Green steps to build a healthy world

A man showcases medicinal plants at Swadeshi Mela in Jamshedpur on Monday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

A glass of wheatgrass juice daily makes one strong enough to resist diseases.

Valuable tips like this one and more are on offer for free at the ayurvedic stall, one of the major highlights at the ongoing Swadeshi Mela in Gopal Maidan.

Centre for Bharatiya Marketing Development, organiser of the eight-day fair that started on Saturday, has invited ayurvedic experts and doctors for offering herbal solutions and solace to the ailing.

Besides, an exhibition of medicinal herbs is also being held at the venue.

ďPeople always want instant result and so they rely on allopathic drugs. Very few know the wonders of ayurveda and medicinal plants that are common and easily available. Though we are explaining whatever the visitors want to know, the stress is on showing them the ways to save the earth with minimum steps,Ē said ayurveda expert Mithilesh Prasad.

Prasad, along with Anil Roy, tell visitors about the benefits of such plants that help save the environment. The two are also open for consultation.

But, as Prasad had said, the organisers are concentrating on green conservation and thus showcasing an array of plants that reduce pollution and can be grown indoor.

Plants like rubber plant, bamboo palm, lily, dracaena, yucca and fern absorb toxic gases like carbon monoxide, trichloroethylene emitted into the atmosphere due to daily use of polythene, ink, paint, fibre and other materials.

According to Prasad, these plants absorb the toxic gases more than any other indoor plant. Zarbera, a flowering plant, also falls in this category and can be grown indoor and in lesser sunlight.

ďAloe vera and snake plant are also tremendously good for houses. Other plants absorb carbon monoxide at night and release oxygen during daytime. But these two absorb carbon monoxide at night as well. Keeping them indoors will increase the oxygen level. These are very simple steps to reduce pollution and can be done as a part of gardening,Ē said Rakesh Pandey, a member of the organising board.